Corsair TX vs. OCZ ZT 550W
by Martin Kaffei on March 26, 2012 9:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Corsair
- PSUs
- OCZ
- 550W
- 80Plus Bronze
- ZT
- TX
OCZ ZT550W Overview
The OCZ ZT550W comes with the usual assortment of parts: you get an extensive user manual, a US/UK/Europe power cord (depending on your location), and the necessary mounting screws. In addition, the power supply has cable management, so some modular cables with a common sleeving are placed in the package as well.
Rated at up to 540W, the +12V rail can deliver nearly the full power of the PSU. +3.3V and +5V are rated at a maximum capacity of 24A each, with a combined output of 140W. Compared with most modern high-efficiency power supplies (like Corsair), OCZ has no DC-to-DC converters inside. In fact they use mag amp regulators for the smaller outputs which is a suitable solution too.
The whole housing is coated with a black finish. The fan grille with a OCZ logo in the middle is black too, and both sides of the case have an OCZ logo. As usual the ventilation holes are honeycombed and a large power switch is located next to the AC input. On the front are modular cable connectors, color coded for PCIe (grey) and peripherals (black). The depth of the device is 17,5cm, which is quite much for a 550W power supply.
| Cables and Connectors | ||
|
Connector type (length) |
Main | 1x 24-pin (55cm) modular |
| ATX12V/EPS12V | 1x 4+4-pin (60cm) modular | |
| PCIe |
1x 6/8-pin (55cm) modular 1x 6/8-pin (55cm) modular |
|
| Peripheral |
3x SATA (ca. 40, 55, 70cm) modular 3x SATA (ca. 40, 55, 70cm) modular |
|
|
3x Molex (ca. 40, 55, 70cm) modular 3x Molex (ca. 40, 55, 70cm) modular 1x FDD adapter (ca. 10cm) modular |
||
Again the 24-pin and CPU cables are relatively long with 55-60cm. Both 6/8-pin cables are 5cm shorter than the ones Corsair used. The cable sleeving somewhat better but they still use different colors for all wires and no flat cables. The FDD connector is a separate adapter that splits off a Molex connector if needed; there are six Molex connectors available. The peripheral cables have exactly the same lengths like the ones from Corsair, what a coincidence!
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
41 Comments
View All Comments
Rookierookie - Monday, March 26, 2012 - link
>I think the days of the 550 watt psu are over unless you only do single card gaming and don't use the highest end cards.That's like saying that the days of the graphics card is over unless you play games and turn on graphic features.
Other people do exist, you know.
retrospooty - Monday, March 26, 2012 - link
" I think the days of the 550 watt psu are over unless you only do single card gaming and don't use the highest end cards."Off all gamers, PC gamers are the minority.
Of PC gamers, high end cards are the minority
Of high end cards, dual chip/SLI is the minority
You are talking about the minority, of a minority within a minority.
Of course this is a tech site and more of us here are likely to game on PC and have extreme setups and overclock to the highest possibility, but we are just a tiny fraction of the market.
bji - Monday, March 26, 2012 - link
Not to dispute your point, but this is a PC component site so non-PC gamers are not reading these articles. Therefore your first categorization is irrelevant.It is true though that high end cards are in the minority in PC gaming, and SLI a minority within the high end card market. So the fraction we're talking about is still small, just not as small within the audience of Anandtech articles as you described.
To try to stay on point: one of these power supplies comes with a feature that would prevent me from buying it, no matter what: the OCZ badge on the case.
gamoniac - Monday, March 26, 2012 - link
My OCZ Fatal1ty 550W's 4+4 pin was only 45cm, posing an issue reaching the farthest 12v ATX connector if I route it behind the motherboard (I had to get an extension). It looks like OCS has listened and increased the length to 60cm. Well done.Corsair TX seems like a good choice, but I am not sure why they need to include two FDD connectors to clutter up the case, especially if it is not a modular PSU to begin with. Does anyone still have an FDD on their PC, let alone two? I got rid of my FDD a few years ago after collecting dust in my garage for a few years.
HowQuaint - Monday, March 26, 2012 - link
Could you be more specific about the "magnetic amplifier" you specify in the OCZ unit? Wikipedia has an article about it but it doesn't seem to be a power supply technology. Since mag amps use a transformer-like device I'd guess it's a forward or flyback converter, which is more commonly used for the primary, high-voltage stage but it still works for low voltages. But saying that it "has no DC-DC converters inside" is inaccurate because any sort of secondary step-down qualifies as a DC-DC converter regardless of topology, and with cross-load numbers that low it definitely uses a secondary converter.Martin Kaffei - Monday, March 26, 2012 - link
Wikipedia is probably not the best source for information like this. As you might see there are two chokes with a black core between the 5VSB and main transformer. Those are the chokes for regulation directly behind the windings. During saturation the voltage comes through. During the (let's call it) "high impedance mode" a part of the voltage pulse gets cut.I didn't say there are no DC-to-DC converter. I know it is the most famous an easiest converter type. But in this case I'm talking about step down converter for 3.3V and 5V, who get current from 12V. Each output voltage has it's own regulation. Most common PSUs regulate 5V and 12V with the same IC which is bad for crossload regulation.
Hope this was understandable since English is just my second language.
Leyawiin - Monday, March 26, 2012 - link
The SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W is the exact same price as those two at Newegg and is a more robust and reliable power supply. I wouldn't touch one made by Great Wall or CWT when a superior SeaSonic built unit is available at that price, especially with a higher capacity.dubyadubya - Monday, March 26, 2012 - link
+1 good catch I agree 100%. That Seasonic is a way better deal, Better quality, more power for the same price its a no brainer. I'd own a CWT PSU but its a step down from a Seasonic brand or built by Seasonic PSU for sure. Personally never seen a Great wall built PSU as far as I know.johan851 - Monday, March 26, 2012 - link
Definitely. Pointing that out made me drop consideration for these - Seasonic makes a much better supply.TegiriNenashi - Monday, March 26, 2012 - link
Objective noise measurement is easy: there is free sound meter programs both for iPad and android.